Jaylen Waddle had nine catches for a season-best 137 yards and a touchdown, and the Miami Dolphins forced Cam Newton into one of the worst statistical days of his career on the way to beating the Carolina Panthers 33-10 on Sunday.
Myles Gaskin had two short rushing scores for Miami (5-7), who became the sixth team in NFL history to immediately follow a 1-7 start with four consecutive wins. Duke Riley blocked a punt that led to a score for Miami.
The quarterback matchup was one-sided. Miami’s Tua Tagovailoa completed 27 of 31 passes for 230 yards and a score. Newton was pulled in the fourth quarter after completing just five of 21 passes for the Panthers (5-7), who lost for the seventh time in their past nine games. Newton finished with 92 yards passing, no touchdowns and two interceptions. It all added up to a quarterback rating of 5.8, by far the worst of his career. He did have Carolina’s lone touchdown, a one-yard spin in the first quarter.
Cleveland Browns 10–16 Baltimore Ravens
Lamar Jackson threw four interceptions but was still able to pull off enough magic to give the Baltimore Ravens victory on Sunday Night Football.
The Browns were unable to get their running game going in order to profit from Jackson’s mistakes. The victory solidified the Ravens’ lead in the AFC North.
Los Angeles Rams 28–36 Green Bay Packers
Aaron Rodgers withstood pain from a toe injury, threw two touchdown passes and also ran for a score in the Green Bay Packers’ 36-28 victory over the Los Angeles Rams.
The Rams outscored Green Bay 11-0 in the fourth quarter, but their comeback attempt ended when Adrian Amos recovered an onside kick with 17 seconds left. Rodgers went 28 of 45 for 307 yards as the Packers bounced back from a 34-31 loss at Minnesota. The reigning MVP threw touchdown passes to Randall Cobb and AJ Dillon.
Tennessee Titans 13–36 New England Patriots
Mac Jones threw two touchdown passes, New England’s defense forced four turnovers and the Patriots earned their sixth straight win, rolling past the Tennessee Titans.
The victory snapped New England’s two-game losing skid against the Titans. The Patriots hadn’t beaten Tennessee since former Patriots linebacker Mike Vrabel took over as coach in 2018. New England (8-4) improved to 6-1 against AFC opponents this season. Jones completed 23 of 32 passes for 310 yards. Kendrick Bourne had both of the Patriots’ TD receptions, finishing with five catches for 61 yards.
The Titans (8-4) stayed close early, but couldn’t survive a bevy of errors that included three fumbles by their running backs and an interception by Ryan Tannehill. He finished 11 of 21 for 93 yards and a touchdown.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 38-31 Indianapolis Colts
Leonard Fournette’s fourth touchdown of the game, a 28-yard run with 20 seconds left, lifted the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to a 38-31 win over the host Indianapolis Colts on Sunday.
Fournette, who rushed for 100 yards on 17 carries, plowed off the left tackle with Tampa Bay (8-3) trying to set up Ryan Succop for a potential game-winning field goal. He ran through a couple of arm tackles and tumbled into the end zone to complete his huge game. The Colts (6-6) had a final chance after Isaiah Rodgers returned the kickoff 72 yards to the Buccaneers’ 32-yard line. But Carson Wentz’s pass on the final play was intercepted by Pierre Desir at the two-yard line to end it.
Los Angeles Chargers 7–28 Denver Broncos
Rookie Patrick Surtain II picked off Justin Herbert twice, returning the second one 70 yards for a touchdown and sparking the Denver Broncos’ win over the Los Angeles Chargers.
The Broncos’ big win sets up a showdown for the AFC West lead next weekend in Kansas City, where the game between Denver (6-5) and the Chiefs (7-4) already was flexed to Sunday night.
Surtain’s first interception came in the end zone on a pass intended for tight end Jared Cook early in the fourth quarter. The Broncos converted that takeaway into a touchdown when Teddy Bridgewater hit tight end Eric Saubert from nine yards to make it 21-7.
Minnesota Vikings 26–34 San Francisco 49ers
Deebo Samuel ran for two touchdowns before leaving with an injury and Elijah Mitchell ran for 133 yards and a score, leading the San Francisco 49ers to victory over the Minnesota Vikings.
The matchup between two .500 teams fighting for wildcard spots was a highly entertaining one with six scores in the third quarter alone, including a 99-yard kickoff return score by Minnesota’s Kene Nwangwu. But the 49ers (6-5) made just enough plays, including a fourth-down stop near the goal line midway through the fourth quarter to win their third straight following a stretch of five losses in six games.
New York Jets 21–14 Houston Texans
Zach Wilson threw for 145 yards and ran for a touchdown in his return from a sprained knee, helping the New York Jets to snap a three-game skid.
Wilson, the No 2 overall pick in April who missed the last four games, was woeful early in the game and threw an interception but put the Jets (3-8) on top with a four-yard scamper in the third quarter.
The Texans (2-9) hoped to build on an upset of Tennessee last week that ended an eight-game skid and looked good early. Tyrod Taylor threw two touchdown passes in the second quarter to give Houston 14-3 lead, but the Texans couldn’t do anything offensively after that.
Pittsburgh Steelers 10–41 Cincinnati Bengals
Proving the first meeting this season wasn’t a fluke, the Cincinnati Bengals walloped the visiting Pittsburgh Steelers behind a career day by Joe Mixon.
Mixon rushed for a career-high 165 yards and punched in a pair of one-yard touchdowns as the Bengals (7-4) swept the regular-season series from the Steelers (5-5-1) for the first time since 2009. Cincinnati have won three straight against their AFC North rivals, their longest streak since winning six in a row from 1988-90.
Philadelphia Eagles 7-13 New York Giants
The New York Giants’ defense rose up to intercept Jalen Hurts three times and held Philadelphia to a season-low in points in beating the error-prone Eagles.
Daniel Jones hit Philadelphia native Chris Myarick with a one-yard score and Graham Gano kicked field goals of 35 and 39 yards as the Giants (4-7) somewhat responded to the firing of offensive coordinator Jason Garrett by ending the Eagles’ two-game winning streak. The Eagles (5-7) were their own worst enemy. They had four turnovers.
Atlanta Falcons 21–14 Jacksonville Jaguars
Cordarrelle Patterson scored twice in his return from an ankle injury, and the Atlanta Falcons found the end zone and the win column for the first time in three weeks in a 21-14 victory over woeful Jacksonville. The Falcons (5-6) managed just a field goal in their previous two games, lopsided losses to Dallas and New England in which they turned over the ball a combined seven times and failed to score a touchdown in consecutive games for the first time since 1987.